Not to make fun of Paris Hilton, (we’ve all got our issues) but lately Ben and I have been pretending we’re uber-versions of Ms. H by sticking our tongues out of our mouths and croaking, it’s haaaawlllcchht, because, well, it’s really hot outside (plus Ben does a wicked Paris Hilton impression.)

85 degrees by 5:30am, hot.

MY OTHER RECIPES

Spoon from a distance, hot.

Even the ACs sweating, hot.

HOT! HOT! HOT!

I guess what I’m trying to say is that I can’t remember a hotter summer in Iowa (it was actually in 1936 – I looked it up – which is probably why I don’t remember) and I seriously dread the thought of turning the stove or oven on these days. Not even for a single break & bake, which is really saying something.

A girl can only survive on salads and raw cookie dough for so long, however, which is why I got crafty in the kitchen today and used my favorite countertop appliance to heat up a meal, and not the house, of Bacon, Cheese and Peach Paninis!

Sweet peach slices are sandwiched between thick-cut ciabatta bread with creamy fontina cheese, salty bacon, and tangy honey mustard, then pressed until crispy, and crunchy. The best part is that the fontina melts through the whispy ciabatta bread to create a mouthwatering, cheesy crust on the outside. It’s ridiculous!

Plus the sandwich can be made with just the microwave and a panini press which means the stove stays off, and the house stays cool…unlike our friend Paris. (Sorry, that was mean!)

First, slice a loaf of fresh ciabatta bread into 1″ slices on the diagonal. You could use any thick-cut, hearty bread, but I love ciabatta’s “holes” which allow the cheese in the panini to sizzle through and create that aforementioned crust!

Then cook a couple slices of thick-cut bacon or center-cut bacon in the microwave.

Cooking bacon in the microwave is kind of my favorite. The microwave doesn’t emit extra heat into the kitchen and the bacon doesn’t splatter everywhere like it does when you cook it in a skillet on the stovetop.

Simply line a microwave-safe plate with a double layer of paper towels, then lay your bacon strips on top. Place another double layer of paper towels on top and microwave in 1 minute increments, rotating the plate 90 degrees (1/4 turn, y’all) every minute until the bacon is cooked through and crisp. I usually cook and rotate at 30 second increments towards the end so the bacon doesn’t burn.

Next slice a wedge of melty, creamy fontina cheese into thin slices. I chose fontina because it melts beautifully, but mozzarella or even brie would be wonderful in here too.

Slice a sweet and juicy peach into 1/2″ slices next. This was my first peach of the summer – an organic white – and it was seriously worth the wait. I could smell it’s sweet fragrance from across the kitchen!

Finally whip up an easy honey-mustard by combining honey with mustard in a 1-1/2-1 ratio. You could totally use prepared honey mustard, btw, I just try and keep the varieties of mustard in the house to a minimum as it is Ben’s #1 most hated food. Now you know.

Assemble the panini by layering slices of cheese onto each slice of bread, then placing the cooked bacon on one half.

Lay the peach slices on the other, then spoon some honey mustard on top.

Close the sandwich, then brush the top and bottom with extra virgin olive oil.

Place it onto a panini press or Griddler, which is what I use, on medium-high for 3-4 minutes, or until golden brown and bubbly.

(If you don’t have a press or Griddler, just cook the sandwich like a grilled cheese in a skillet!)

Let the sandwich cool on a cutting board for 2-3 minutes, then slice and dig in!

Directions

Heat a panini press to medium-high heat.* Stir together honey and mustard in a small bowl and set aside.

Lay out bread slices and place fontina cheese on top of all the slices. Place a slice of bacon on half of the bread slices, and peach slices on the other half. Spread honey mustard over the peaches, then assemble the sandwiches. Brush the tops and bottom slices of the assembled sandwich with oil, then press in the panini press for 3-4 minutes, or until golden brown.

This recipe is courtesy of Iowa Girl Eats, http://iowagirleats.com.

These sandwiches are wicked good, you guys! Sweet, hot, cheesy, salty, and crunchy. Plus, they only take minutes to make and, most importantly, do not heat up the kitchen.

57 Comments [+]

My favorite kitchen appliance is definitely the Griddler. So many uses! Although I couldn’t live without my food processor either…
I suppose i would rather be hot the rest of my life than cold. At least if it’s hot outside you can still have a garden and enjoy some activities outside. Not too much to do in the winter.

Anyways…. I am feeling the heat down here in southern Iowa too. We have been grilling our meals a lot lately. Or just eating tons of fresh veggies in different ways for sides – caprese salad, salsa, cucumber and onion salad….

We have taken refuge on the lake every weekend, there is no place else to beat this heat!

I have a panini grill and i LOVE it!! It was the first wedding present that I used first! We have been pretty hot up here in Minnesota but we can escape to the north country and cool down a bit! You guys should take a roadie to the north shore! It gets nice and cool with the lake affect!

Just so happens I have tons of peaches and fontina cheese. I’m making these babies!!
Not very glamerous, but I’d have to say my microwave is my favorite kitchen appliance. It’s just so convenient. But my food processor comes in 2nd. oh yeah….my keurig! ;)
I’d rather be hot because I’m already so cold natured.

Those look so good. It has been so miserably hot out. It needs to rain and drop 20 degrees. I have always said I’d rather be hot as I hate the snow in winter but after the last however many weeks of high 90s/100s I’m just not sure. Probably still rather be hot. Can I just live somewhere that has fall-like weather year-round? Iowa in September/October is amazing.

I LOVE my vitamix. Use it at least once a day right now with the heat. I love the idea of this sandwich. Last summer I was really into the nectarine, cheddar combo with a little nutmeg sprinkled on. I’ll have to try adding bacon and honey mustard.

I’m not sure this can really be considered an appliance, especially after reading some other posts, but I love my coffee maker! I’m a coffee addict and I can’t imagine life without having one! Plus, I LOVE the smell of coffee. It does something magical to me!

I would have to say extremely cold because I hate being hot and sweaty. My favorite “appliance” right now is my infrared grill. I have it right outside my kitchen on our deck and I have been cooking everything on it from pizza to homemade cottage fries to my latest favorite supper – grilled tomato & cheese (emphasis on grilled). I slice open a (take-n-bake) ciabatta bun from Hy-Vee and fill it with farmers cheese, cojack, and tomato slices. I wrap it in foil and put it on my grill over med-low for about 8 minutes. It’s crusty on the outside and melty on the inside – sooo good!

My all time favorite appliance is my Kitchen Aide Stand Mixer. We received it as a wedding present 23 years ago and have used the Heck out of it. Still going strong! I don’t know what we would do without it!
I would rather be extremely cold for the rest of my life because I am a apinner and a knitter and there are only so many clothes you can remove and remain decent! :)And I hate being hot and sweaty!!

How can that be your first peach of the season!? :)
We’ve been eating them like crazy for weeks. And my personal favorite, as in, I will probably never bother with any other kind of peach, is Missouri peaches (found at Fareway). I can’t help but put a few in my cart every time I shop.

This nudges me to throw some peaches on the grill sometime this week! Thanks!

Have you ever used your panini press to make bacon? We do it ALL the time! Cooks both sides of the bacon at once so it takes 1/2 the time as on the stove (with no grease splatters). And then – your panini press is already warmed up to make your sammies! YUM!

My sister and I both follow your blog(which we love!) and decided that we had to try the paninis, because we were thinking-bacon, peaches, and fontina?! So we packed up food & kids and met at my mom’s. Strangely enough, between us we had all the ingredients! ( mom had the fontina- I was impressed!) ok- YUM! Wow, what a delicious combo. We all decided this was our new fave, move over tomato, basil,& mozzarella! Well, lunch went so well and the kids were playing so nicely ( hadn’t heard a peep from them -which as a parent is also a bit scary) We decided to extend our visit and stay through dinner. We decided on the corn blueberry salad, which had also caught our curiosity. Off to the store and voila! another great meal! We add shrimp, too and LOVED it. BIG THANK YOU to you! It was a great IGE feeding frenzy on Cape Cod! (not to mention quality family time :) !)

I am new to this blog…but I can’t get enough. I envy your cooking, working out and all together healthy living!!! I have a question though, what about if/when you have kids. This is where I struggle with 2 little ones…I don’t have the time for hours in the kitchen or hours working out!!!

Made this panini and fell in love!!! So yum! I used turkey bacon instead of real bacon (lower in fat… unfortunately, it doesn’t get as crispy). I don’t have a panini press, but I do have a stove top grill pan so I used that, put a heavy frying pan on top, and loaded that up with heavy cans for weight. Got the lovely grill marks on my sandwich too. Fontina is an AMAZING choice because it’s so tasty when it’s melty. Yum!

I tried a different version of this recipe and don’t own a panini machine – so I used the old George Foreman grill and it worked perfect! My husband loved it. I used Fontina Cheese (first time used and loved it) with Ham and tomato. Sandwhich was so gooooood! Thanks!

I make almost everything from scratch–mayo, salsa, pickles, yogurt, tortillas, etc. So I use all my tools at least twice a week. If I had to choose one, I’d choose my Cuisinart immersion blender, as it also comes with a small food processor attachment, as well as a whip attachment. With that and my cast iron skillet, which is older than I am, I could probably continue to cook to my heart’s content. Love, love, love your blog. Never been to Iowa, but hope to one day. I live in AZ, so I know heat. Hope you and Ben are staying cool as cucs!

BTW–am so going to make these bacon bites tomorrow–love fruit and grape tomatoes–and what doesn’t bacon make better? I actually made mayo with bacon fat–every southern girl keeps a jar of bacon grease in her kitchen.

hi, i’m kristin!

I'm a Midwestern wife and Mom of two little boys. After being diagnosed with Celiac Disease in 2013, Iowa Girl Eats is a place I share delicious and approachable gluten-free recipes made with everyday, in-season ingredients. Visit my Recipe Index for inspiration!MORE ABOUT ME

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